For most people, your one and only goal in joining The Dark Arts is to request a graphic - most generally, a banner. For that, we've written a bit of a guide that includes everything to know and will lead you through a perfectly painless experience here. However, if you would like to join us in a somewhat larger capacity, read on, my friend.
- read all pinned topics. a pinned topic will be located at the top of the forum and prefaced with the word "sticky." these topics were pinned for a reason, generally, because they're relevant. read through them before posting in a section.
- read the FAQ's. they're useful and important. generally, you don't have to read all of them, only the ones that are relevant to you, but before you do anything, you should make sure there isn't going to be a complication caused by not having read them.
- read the threads in Notices from the Admin. this section is where we, the admins, make announcements about the site as a whole. some of them are only relevant for a certain period of time but others will remain relevant always. take a moment to peruse them - there aren't that many.
- look around. if you are looking to learn to use graphic design software, this is particularly relevant. you will want to look around the tutorials area to get a feel for what is already there - there are very few things you can't learn by browsing that section and very few things we don't already have a place for.